


For Future and Past

by Kei_01



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Angst, FTM, Fantasy, Fighting, LGBTQ, Magic, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trans Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kei_01/pseuds/Kei_01
Summary: In a world ravaged by war, our unlikely group of heroes Blake, Grendel, and Aki joins forces to stop the war, all while facing their past.I want to thank my friends for creating characters that bring this story to life. Adrianna for Aki, Clay for Blake, Qyn for Bucket, and Lumi for Ende. Without them, this story would not have happened. (Lumi and Adrianna have also helped with the editing process)
Kudos: 3





	1. Slow Updates

Sorry to interrupt the story. This is just an author's note saying that this will have slow updates because I have 2 jobs and school, and I write when I can. Thank you for your love and support.


	2. Bucket's Bumble Bar

Deep in the woods lies a small clearing with a log cabin in the center. Lost, a short, stout man with short, tightly curled hair, adorned in a bright yellow sweater that contrasted against his dark hazelnut colored skin, wanders up to the bright red front door and knocks, hoping whoever resides inside is willing to help. A few seconds after knocking, the door slowly creaked open out peaks, a man with fluffy red hair with small, black horns on his forehead.

“Hi, I’m sorry to bother you, but my name is Bucket, and I’m lost. I was hoping you could help me back to Raventhorn?” the shorter man asked, not quite looking him in the eyes. Stunned by the man’s quick words, he responded in a thick accent.

“Sure. Name’s Grendel.” Bucket smiled at his words, thanking him profusely, apologizing for the inconvenience. Grendel opened the door wider, revealing the giant of the man that he indeed was. Reaching over inside the doorway, he grabbed his red fur pelt, slinging it over his bare muscular shoulders and holding his ax. As he leads Bucket through the dense forest towards town, one question has plagued him.

“Why’re you out this far in the woods anyway?” Grendel asked curiously why this small man is out, wondering this far away from town. He had spent years without seeing a soul, so seeing someone was a surprise.

“I was collecting some resources for my bar.” Bucket responded quickly, still anxious about the man towering over him.

“A bar?” He looked at Bucket quizzically, not entirely understanding what a bar was.

“Have you never been to a bar before, big guy?” Responded the barkeep, slightly slowing down his speech, thinking he may have spoken too fast for the giant.

“I don’t understand why you’re collectin’ resources for a bar this far out. Ain’t it just wood?” Grendel clarified his question, hoping to learn about this “bar” that brought this man so far away from civilization.

“No, it’s a place where people relax and drink to their heart’s content. I only come out this far for a certain type of resource that I can’t find anywhere else. It just so happens that I took a different way out and got lost.” Bucket explained, taken aback that the man had no idea what a bar was even though he looks like someone he would frequent that environment.

“Sounds fun. What were you out here gettin’ exactly? I live a good ways away from town.” Grendel stated, getting excited and slightly bouncing on the balls of his bare feet. Bucket laughed softly at the large man’s behavior.

“It’s this blue flower. It has this unique flavor to it. It has a minty taste to it that I add to drinks as a kind of garnish.” He answered. Grendel’s eyes light up, knowing exactly which flower Bucket was describing.

“Oh, you mean Corsican Mint, with the tiny blue flowers. Normally people use it for ground cover, but you can use it to make Crème de Menthe. It’s not very common around these parts. How’d you find it?” Grendel rambled, showing a vast knowledge of the local flora. Bucket stopped walking, shocked. Slowing his speech ever further, he answered.

“My husband sells flowers. He found large patches of them once and brought them back to me. He liked the taste of them, so I make sure I have extra when he comes home.” stumbling over his words a little as he jogged to catch up to the other who had kept walking. The way he went out of his way to gather these flowers for his husband made Grendel smile.

“That’s sweet. Well, we’re just about to town. If you walk straight forward, you’ll find it.” Stopping abruptly, not wanting to get closer to the village.

“Thanks a bunch, Grendel. You know if you ever come down to the bar, I can pay you back with drinks?” Bucket offered the giant man, wanting to pay the giant back for helping him.

“You don’t gotta pay me back, plus I don’t like goin’ to town. People don’t seem to like me too much.” Grendel explained.

“We sell honey and honey candies like - like this one! “ Bucket said, pulling a small candy out of his pocket and handing it to Grendel. Hesitantly, he placed the candy in his mouth. As it slowly melted in his mouth, a smile spread across his face.

“On the other hand, I might take you up on that offer, lead the way! I need some more of these. They’re amazin’!” Grendel shouted as he started to bounce once again. Bucket, laughing at the giant childlike man, began leading the way to the tavern.

“Oh. Well then, big guy, let’s get going. It’s almost rush hour.” He laughed.

As they approach the town, small wooden buildings with stone foundations come into view. Walking along the dirt road, they approached a large dark wood building with its foundation made of large stones. Attached to its dark gray roof is a hexagon-shaped sign with the words “Bucket’s Bumble Bar” engraved into it, along with a small bee. Opening the door reveals a warm and welcoming environment with a few people already inside.

“A small thing of honey candies and anything you want to drink, on the house.” Bucket says as he walks behind the bar. Grendel sits down, leaning his ax against the bar. He happily responds.

“Apple juice, please.” adding a hand full of candies to his mouth, earning a chuckle from a cloaked patron sitting nearby.


	3. Stranger at The Bar

Alone at the bar sat someone that had waited for the barkeep to return. A dark, hooded cloak draped over their tall, slim frame. They looked up at the giant Grendel, laughing, unsure whether he had been joking or not with his childish order. Uncertain as to why this person laughed at him, Grendel looked down and saw amber eyes staring back.

"You want some? I'm sure Bucket could fix you a glass." looking them in their eyes as a confused look washed over their face.

"You're fucking kidding, right. Apple juice? At a bar?" They laughed while emphasizing their disbelief with wide eyes and a sarcastic smile.

"A bar's a place to relax an' drink, right?" Grendel asked, looking back towards Bucket, thinking that the man had tricked him and lied about what a bar was. Laughing even harder now, they looked at Grendel and said.

"Name's Blake. I like your style, big man." Flashing sharp fangs in a smile, they looked him up and down, scanning his bare muscular chest noticing two jagged scars that lined his collar bone, barely visible behind the edge of the fur pelt draped over his large shoulders. He wasn't wearing much besides the red hide and some tan, torn shorts.

"Oh, I'm Grendel," Grendel said just above a whisper, looking back at Bucket, who had just slid him his apple juice. So, he hadn't been lied to about what a bar was.

"There you go, big guy, one apple juice on the house." Bucket chuckled at his childish drink before walking off to tend to other patrons.

"On the house? Shit, and you got apple juice, seriously?" Blake let out a sarcastic laugh. How could this giant of a man order apple juice when he could've had free alcohol? Blake sighed. Their reaction had earned a small glare from Bucket before he had turned back cleaning glasses.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Blake mumbled to themselves, sighing harder and hitting their head on the bar. Looking over at them with concern, Grendel placed a large hand on Blake's shoulder.

"You okay, buddy?" He asked. Shooting straight up in their seat, Blake tensed up, looking into Grendel's eyes with anger in theirs. Their eyes seemed to glow from the wrath that resides in them.

"Don't fucking touch me. I am not your buddy," Blake seethed as they shoved his hand off of them, turning to walk out of the bar leaving the other frozen in confusion. Grendel looked back at Bucket before grabbing his ax and trying to run after them before Bucket stopped him.

"Maybe it's best if you don't interact with them." Bucket said while keeping a firm grip on Grendel's arm. Grendel looked down at him with saddened and confused eyes. He had felt bad for obviously causing Blake discomfort and wanted to apologize, so why shouldn't he?

"I need to apologize to 'em." He claimed before jerking his arm out of Bucket's hand and running out of the bar, earning a disappointed sigh from the shorter male who watched him start to run down the dirt road before returning to his job.

Running down the roads, Grendel frantically searched for the cloaked figure he had interacted with at the bar. The town folk's faces started to blur together, causing a picnic to set in, but soon enough, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar cloak and started sprinting in that direction.

"Look, man, I'm sorry I didn't mean anythin'." Grendel was quickly interrupted by Blake, who angrily corrected the giant.

"I'm not a man fuckface." They said, walking slightly faster, hoping he would get the message. Running up in front of them, Grendel stopped Blake in their tracks.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelin's. Can I somehow make it up to you?" The giant asked. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt others. The pleading look in Grendel's large dark chocolate eyes was enough to make Blake fold.

"Look, I'm heading to town a few towns away, I have some business to take care of, and I need some muscle. You, my good sir, fit the bill." They sighed, rolling their eyes, and started walking out of town, not caring if Grendel had followed or not, but he did.

"I don't like hurting people, but I want to make it up to you." Grendel voiced his concerns about being a bodyguard for them. Without looking back, Blake responded.

"Relax, Apple Juice. If all goes well, you won't have to do anything. You're just there for intimidation, so don't speak." They pulled out a cigarette before lighting it with their finger, without Grendel noticing.

"Oh, okay," Grendel softly mumbles as he followed behind Blake, walking out of town.


	4. New in Town

Wandering through dirt trails deep in the woods, Blake and Grendel were on their way to Holsworthy. Holsworthy was one of the wealthier towns, within a day or two walks from Raventhorn. They were on day three of their journey because Grendel would tell Blake every little thing he knows about the animals and plants they encountered on their trip.

"That mushroom right there is called..." Grendel had started for the hundredth time that day before he was interrupted.

"Oh, my gods, shut up. I don't care about your stupid fucking plants!" Blake yelled, frustrated by the constant talking.

"This was supposed to be a day's walk, but because of your constant fucking talking, it has taken three fucking days. Will you just shut up and walk?" they continued. Grendel stood there in silence for a dew moment, watching Blake walk farther down the path. Silently Grendel continued behind Blake. Not wanting to cause him any more problems, he kept his head down and stayed silent.

Another hour of awkward silence passed before they saw the iron gates of Holsworthy ahead of them. Walking down the stone pathways, Grendel had noticed a small group had gathered in the center of town. Curious about the commotion, he made their way through the crowd, several townspeople moving out of the giant's way, intimidated by Grendel's massive stature. Once near the front, he saw the town's law enforcement harassing a small woman, pale with long raven hair with purple and blue undertones in sunlight. Blake, on the other hand, had ignored the crowd, entirely preferring to avoid it in general while Grendel stood there. The officers were yelling at this woman, accusing her of a crime she was saying she didn't commit.

"I didn't steal that." the woman claimed, pointing at the small object in one of the officer's hands. It looked like a bracelet covered in colorful jewels. Another officer approached her from behind and started placing her under arrest.

"You are under arrest for thievery and will be executed tomorrow at sundown." the officer stated, trying to push her through the parting crowd. They made her walk directly towards Grendel, and confidence rushed over him. After hearing they were going to execute her, he had to stand and do something— trying to look and sound as large and intimidating as possible. Grendel stood directly in the officers' path, standing straight with his chest puffed out.

"She said she didn't steal it," he said, standing eye to eye with the large officers. The crowd turned their attention towards the giants having their staredown.

"What was that?" an officer asked him, adjusting the chest piece of their shiny armor, trying to intimidate Grendel into walking away.

"I said she said she didn't steal it, so she didn't steal it." Grendel restated, trying to stand taller than he was before. Before he knew what was happening, his hands were behind his back, and the officers dragged him to jail.

They were both shoved through the unhappy crowd. Grendel and the woman were having insults thrown at them. Fear and anxiety started coursing through Grendel's veins. All the confidence he once held vanished as reality set in, he was going to jail. He was looking around with wide eyes. He was trying to find Blake in the crowd, but they weren't there. Next to him was the woman; she had a calm and collected look on her face. Seeing this had calmed Grendel in some way as they made their way to jail.

After hours of processing, the two changed into old brown prison uniforms before the officers shoved the two into different cells that sat across from each other. They sat there for a while in an awkward silence before the woman finally spoke up.

"You know you're dumb, right," she looked across the hall at Grendel, who had started pacing his cell. He stopped in his tracks and looked back at her noticing her silver eyes.

"I'm sorry? Why?" He asked, tilting his head curiously.

"You stood up for me when I stole that bracelet. Thank you," the thief chuckled at the look that spread across Grendel's face.

"Why? Why would you steal?" Grendel asked in disbelief.

"I needed money, and I don't need people like you judging me." She snapped at the man who stood several heads higher than her, not caring about the size difference.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, let's start over. I'm Grendel." He tried to smile at her. She slowly turned around with a glare on her face.

"Aki," she mumbled with a glare still on her face.

Hours had passed between the two, and they could now see it was now dark outside through the barred windows. Their only light was coming from torches and lanterns that lined the hallways of the jail. Grendel had been trying to make small talk before Aki just looked at him.

"Stop trying to small talk. I hate it," Aki stated before going to lay down on the cot provided in the cells, "Either ask real questions or don't talk," she mumbled before rolling over to face the wall away from Grendel.

Silent, the giant sat on his cot, contemplating how to talk to her before deciding it's probably better to leave her alone.

"What brought you into Holsworthy anyways?" Aki asked after another hour of silence. She was now sitting on the end of the cot, looking out of the window at the stars.

"Hmmm, oh, I came here..." Grendel froze mid-sentence, realizing Blake has no idea where he is or what happened to him, "Oh no, they don't know where I am," he mumbled.

"Wait, who doesn't know where you are?" Aki asked, turning to face Grendel.

"Um, my, I don't think they like me very much, but I told them I'd help. Blake's goin' to be so mad." Grendel rambles before Aki snaps him back to reality

"Not much you can do now, huh?" she asked rhetorically.

"I guess not," Grendel softly sighed, laying back on his cot staring at the ceiling.

"What about you? What brought you to town?" Grendel asked, not looking back at the small woman but still trying to continue a conversation.

"Running, I guess," she mumbled, looking back out through the barred window.

"From what?" Grendel asked, sitting up back up on the cot that is too small for his giant self. Not looking at the giant across the hall, she replied solemnly.

"My past? I don't know," she replied, looking down at her hands, almost seemingly lost in thought. Grendel's face saddened, relating to the thief's words.

"I understand that feelin'. Feels like I've been runnin' most my life." He chuckled sadly at the thought. Aki looked up from her hands and back over towards the giant, slightly confused.

"You're running from the war too?" Aki asked. Grendel's familiar smile dropped, eyes glazing over with fear and sadness. Aki immediately regretted it.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me, and I can see what happened to you was not fair." Aki rushed the words out. Her words sent Grendel out of his trance and back to reality. He looked around for a second with a slightly panicked look on his face.

"What?" he whispered, looking back up at Aki, seeing regret in her eyes.

"No, no, no. It's okay. You didn't know it's fine. I'm fine." Grendel said, trying to plaster his smile back on his face, but it wasn't quite the same. Aki could see that whatever happened to him affected him greatly. She couldn't help but feel guilty as Grendel turned away and lay down on the small cot in the corner and stared at the ceiling. Aki lay in her cot as well before sleep overcame the two.

The next morning silence overcame the two was interrupted by an officer walking down the hall. As his footsteps echoed down the hall, he approached Grendel's cell.

"Grendel Boletus. You're free to go." The guard said, unlocking Grendel's cell and opening the door. Confusion washed over them as Grendel stepped out.

"Officer, what about Aki? She ain't done nothin' wrong. She told me everythin'." Grendel had lied without even thinking. He knew he still needed to save his new friend. He had never lied, especially to authority. The words came out of his mouth so confidently it scared him slightly.

"She stole so that the town will execute her tonight, and I suggest you leave now before you join her." The guard threatened a glare etched on their face, and just like that, the sliver of confidence the giant had was gone. He looked back at Aki, who had a small frown on her face. While being escorted out, Grendel only had one question.

"Sir, where's your local bar?"


	5. Jail Break

Making his way through town, Grendel was back in his clothes on the way to the Vagabond Bar, Holsworthy’s local tavern. As the townspeople stared him down, he walked into the saloon, looking for the one person who could help him. In a dark corner of the room sat the cloaked figure Grendel had searched for passed out on the table surrounded by several empty and half-empty glasses alike. Grendel rushed over, starting to shake the sleeping figure awake.

“Blake! Blake, wake up,” Grendel said in a panicked voice. Disturbed from their slumber, Blake slowly lifted their head looking around to see what the commotion was. Upon seeing their travel companion that had been missing for an entire day, they were slightly shocked.

“Oh, hey, Apple Juice, where have you been?” Blake asked in a calm tone, contrasting Grendel’s panicked one.

“Jail, but I need your help with somethin’,” he said, talking a little quieter to avoid drawing attention from others in the tavern. A shocked look overcame Blake’s features.

“Jail?!” They exclaimed before being quickly shushed by Grendel, who smiled at the people who had turned their attention towards them, hoping to calm their suspicions. Blake started busting out laughing before calming down enough to speak.

“No way. No fucking way. Apple juice, you did not go to jail, don’t fucking lie to me.” they said, laughing hysterically.

“That’s not the point. I need your help,” Grendel said in a severe tone. That had been enough to get Blake to stop laughing.

“Oh shit. What’s wrong?” Blake asked in a severe tone that matched Grendel’s before cracking a slight smile and continuing.

“Did you drop the soap and are trying to run away from the others?” they laughed even harder. Not understanding why they had started laughing and getting fed up with Blake laughing at him when he needed the help, Grendel slammed his fist on the table. The force caused several glasses to jump, clink together, or fall over entirely. Immediately Blake stopped laughing as the tavern filled with an eerie silence. They had all become slightly scared of the giant in the corner.

“I need your help rescuin’ my friend,'' Grendel whispered at Blake with a rugged look in his eyes. Blake’s face was unreadable as he looked at Grendel dead and eyes and asked.

“And is this friend in jail right now?” with the same unreadable expression. Knowing what he was asking for was illegal, Grendel also knew Blake was the only person he could get to help him.

“Yes, I understand I’m askin’ a lot, but please.” Grendel pleaded in a calm voice. He was looking into Blake’s eyes, begging. A loud, exacerbated groan leaves Blake’s mouth as they threw their head back.

“Fine. All you had to say was a jailbreak, and I would’ve been on board from the fucking start.” Blake continued to groan as they stood up and started walking out of the bar. Grendel panicked slightly before rushing after them. Grendel reached his hand out to stop Blake.

“Where’re you goin’? We need a plan before we rush in there an’ blow everythin’ up.” Grendel said, standing in front of Blake to stop him from going any farther, but they got this look in their eye and smiled deviously at Grendel.

“That sounds like a beautiful fucking plan. You, you handsome beefcake, are a genius.” Blake laughed before running around Grendel and straight towards the jail. Grendel chased after them. Running through the streets, they started to gain attention. Grendel eventually caught up with Blake and tackled them to the ground.

“Blake, stop, people, are staring,” Grendel mumbled while standing up and brushing the dirt off of his tattered pants. He extended his hand to help Blake back to their feet. Grumbling and brushing off their pants.

“Asshole, you’re the one that wanted to break your friend out of jail,” Blake grumbled.

“I know, but I’d rather not get caught before rescuing them,” Grendel grumbled back, starting to walk away.

“Do you even know where the jail is?” Grendel asked.

“Um, no, but I still want to set stuff on fire,” They mumbled, quietly following Grendel, nonetheless. Eventually, Blake realized they were about to break into a jail in the middle of the day. They were chuckling at the irony of Grendel wanting to be secretive about the whole situation while he was about to commit a crime in broad daylight.

“Quick question, how do you plan on doing this in the middle of the day without drawing attention to yourself?” They pondered aloud, asking more of a rhetorical question. Grendel stopped walking and slowly turned back to look Blake in the eyes.

“If we don’t do this now, they die, so it’s now or never,” Grendel said with a blank tone before turning back around. Blake, on the other hand, started scheming, a sadistic smile started across their face as the prison came into sight, and a smoke-like substance seemed to roll off their shoulders. Unbeknownst to Grendel, Blake caught on fire and ran straight towards the jail.

Blake then grabbed the metal bars that lined the windows and melted them, laughing hysterically. Grendel was scared, but he still ran straight into the fire to find Aki. Busting through the prison doors, he ran down smokey hallways, mentally yelling at Blake for being so irresponsible and putting others in danger like this. Navigating the maze of hallways, Grendel found his way to the cell block they had shared.

“Aki? You in there?” Grendel asked. He could barely see two feet in front of him due to the amount of smoke that had filled the hallways. Aki was currently trying to bust down her cell door before she heard his voice.

“Grendel? Why the hell are you here?” she yelled before mumbling something about a spell. Grendel found the door and ripped it off its hinges, and told Aki to follow him.

“We’re savin’ your life, ma’am,” Grendel softly chuckled and smiled back at her as they ran through the halls, trying to remember his way out. Running beside him was a very confused Aki, questions running through her head like who was “we” and why were they trying to rescue her? Grendel had to be dumber than she initially imagined. Sprinting through the narrow smoked filled halls, they found their way outside only to find Blake fighting off around 15 guards by themself.

“Blake, time to go,” Grendel yelled, running past the group fighting. Blake set off an explosion before emerging from the center perfectly fine, minus their shoulders, which sported small flames, clothes completely unharmed. They run past Grendel and Aki, laughing like a maniac.

“Hurry up, I doubt that killed them,” They turned around and yelled. The two sped up as the group dashed through the wood to the one place they knew they could go.


	6. Old Faces, New Friends

As the three made their way back to Raventhorn, the only noise to heard was that of the dense woods surrounding them. Blake and Aki made sure to keep the other in their sights, not sure they should trust the other or not. Grendel, on the other hand, was leading the way back to the Bucket’s in silence, not wanting a repeat of his first travel with Blake, but the silence was getting to him. He turned around to face the two behind him. The two didn’t stop the subtle staring contest as they continued walking.

“We’re about to town, an’ none of us has said a word,” Grendel complained, while the others just ignored him and walked right past him. The giant turned back around, rushing to catch up to the other two.

“What’s goin’ on between you two?” Grendel asked, now walking slightly behind his quiet companions.

“None of your business,” Blake snapped back at the giant, continuing to glare at the short woman walking next to them. The giant visibly flinched behind them.

“Don’t snap at him like that,” Aki snapped back at Blake.

“Well shit, will you look at that? It has emotions,” Blake rolled his eyes, causing Grendel to stop walking for a second to watch the others walk off. He quickly ran back behind them as their argument continued.

“Excuse me? Like you have room to talk, Hot Shot,” Aki yelled back at them. The three had just reached the edge of Raventhorn at this point and continued walking towards Bucket’s place.

“Y’all shouldn’t argue like this.” Grendel tried to form some peace between them, but he didn’t think they heard him.

“Oh, the Little Soldier Girl thinks she’s on a fucking high horse. You have no right to look down your nose at me.” Blake snarled at Aki. The group walked through town, garnering attention to their little argument.

“Y’all should at least quiet down.” Grendel proposed onto empty ears.

“Oh? And you can?” Aki asked rhetorically to the hothead.

As they walked up the steps to Bucket’s, the two still argued while Grendel followed shortly behind. Bucket’s head shot up at the noise only to see an old friend of his. Bucket interrupted their argument.

“Take it outside!” He said in an authoritative tone getting the arguing to stop immediately.

“Aki, you know my fighting policy,” Bucket continued, causing confused looks on the larger figure’s faces. They both looked between the two wonder how they had known each other.

“Yes, but…” Aki had tried to explain her point before she was interrupted by the small man behind the counter.

“No buts, stop arguing or get out.” Bucket stated matter of factly. He looked over at the two that accompanied Aki into the tavern and smiled, seeing Grendel’s familiar face.

“Hey, big guy, glad you made it back okay. Why don’t you guys have a seat and shut up?” Bucket said with a smile on his face returning to washing glasses. Grendel went over to sit at the bar and talked to Bucket with a mouth full of honey candies while Bucket laughed. Aki goes off to sit in her regular seat, Blake following shortly behind her as they sit down at the large dark oak table covered in nicks and scratches located in the back corner away from all other patrons in the tavern. They sat across from each other and glared before Aki finally said something.

“What are you doing here?” She asked in a hushed tone despite being so far away from any other soul.

“I could ask you the same thing, General,” Blake shot back. Aki froze at the title she had run away from a few years prior.

“Do not call me that,” she seethed at the hothead across the table from her. They laughed at her reaction.

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” Blake flirted before a blade lodged itself in the wall next to their face. Their wide amber eyes look over at the small extended hand that threw the knife.

“AKI! What did I say?!” Bucket yelled across the tavern before turning back to Grendel, who was telling them of his adventures. Aki lowered her hand and continued glaring at Blake.

“If you want to keep that pretty face, princey, I would stop talking.” She said, leaning back in her seat. Blake’s eyes widened for a second once he realized she knew who he was before he rolled them, trying to look unaffected at the nickname.

“I will ask you one last time what are you doing here?” Aki asked once again. Blake leaned back and looked around to make sure no one was listening.

“Running, and I assume you are as well. I’d bet fucking money it’s from the same thing,” Blake answered in a dark and quiet tone. Aki rolled her eyes and glared back at the runaway royalty.

“Why would the Prince of The Fire Realms want to run from the war?” She asked sarcastically. She had a reason to run. Blake could benefit from the war, while she wouldn’t, no matter who won.

“First of all, I’m not a fucking ‘prince,’ and second, I didn’t want to fight anymore. Anyway, I can fuck over my father and his pointless fight. I’m game,” Blake explained himself. Aki’s expression softened as she looked over at someone with whom she had more in common than she could have ever thought. She turned her gaze over towards Bucket and Grendel at the bar, the latter sitting in a seat too small for his massive stature. Bucket was laughing at the giant as he happily explained what he had been through in his adventure. Aki looked back at Blake with a stern look.

“You will not tell him who I am,” she said, pointing over the happy giant at the bar. Blake looked over at him. Grendel had a soft smile on his face before looking over at the two having their conversation. He turned, and his smile grew as he made eye contact and gave them a goofy wave before turning back to his discussion with Bucket. Blake had developed a soft smile of their own before turning around with a stone face.

“As long as you don’t tell him who I am, you have a deal.” They held out a hand to seal the deal with a handshake. Aki didn’t hesitate as she shook their hand.

“You have a deal.” She said with a smile as they shook on their deal.


	7. The City of Black Sky

The trio decided to stay with Bucket, and soon, days became weeks. Aki had spent her time playing cards and making money from patrons that were blowing through town. They could find Blake blacked out before the sun reached its highest, and Grendel helped Bucket in the garden out behind the tavern. They earned their keep, mostly. One morning, Bucket had called the three down to ask them for a favor.

“Could you guys run over to Holmfirth and buy some products for me?” He asked, scanning their faces for any reaction other than Grendel’s constant smile. After a few seconds of silence before, Blake looked down towards Bucket.

“Why can’t you go?” They asked in disdain, causing Aki to elbow them in the ribs. Bucket glared at Blake before providing their retort.

“For someone that’s been living under my roof free of charge, you seem to ask a lot of questions,” Bucket’s tone had caused Aki to snicker quietly before quickly stopping to avoid getting scolded as well. Bucket still turned his gaze towards the woman for a brief second.

“If you must know, my husband is on his way home, and I’d like to be here in case something goes wrong. Also, I need Elephizzun meat, which I can only find in Holmfirth’s market. I’ll give you guys money and food for your journey.” Bucket continued. Money was all Blake needed to hear to agree. The other two were ready to lend a hand to Bucket whenever required.

As the group gathered their supplies and materials for their week-long journey, Bucket gave them directions, along with a map. After a few hours of packing, the trio was on its way, walking through the woods once more.

Days of setting up and tearing down camps, traveling, and having minimal conversations, they run into their first problem, they had run out of food.

“What do you mean we ‘ran out of food’?” Blake yelled at the other two around them.

“I mean, we don’t have any more food,” Aki retorted. Grendel, ignoring their conversation, began walking into the woods.

“We have at least three more days until we get to Holmfirth, and we have no fucking food. Great.” Blake let out a small sarcastic laugh turning away from the little woman running their hands through their dark hair.

“Look, we can figure something out, forage, and hunt until we reach the town. Once we do, we can restock there.” Aki reasoned, turning to start foraging for something for them to eat.

Something felt off to them, but they could not put their finger on why.

“Does something feel off to you?” Blake asked, an uneasy feeling settling in their guts.

“Yes, and I don’t like it,” Aki mumbles, crouching down and reaching towards her boots. Silence overcame them. Suddenly they could hear shuffling coming from the woods. Blake crouched down, hoping not to be spotted, but the rustling sound on the forest floor only got closer. Adrenaline coursed through their veins as a large, shadowed figure appeared against the setting sun. As the figure approached their camp, Aki sprang into action. Pulling out a knife hidden in her boot, she runs towards the beast three times her size, tackling them with a dense thud.

Before he could realize it, Grendel was on his back with a knife to his neck. All the food he had gathered now back on the forest floor. Aki realized what just happened and jumps off of him and apologizes while Blake is laughing and Grendel is trying to catch his breath.

“Damn short stack! You took down Apple like it was nothing.” Blake laughed at the giant rolling on his back.

“Grendel, I’m so sorry I thought you were going to attack us.” Aki let out yet another apology before bending down to help him sit back up.

“Where the hell were you anyway?” Blake asked the giant who now sat on the forest floor, putting the food he had collected back into his cape.

“Y’all said we were out of food, so I went and got food,” He explained, holding out his cape, now used as a makeshift basket. The others looked down in shock at the bounty that the giant had found during their short conversation.

“Apple? How’d you get all of this? Is it even edible?” Blake wondered aloud.

“Of course they are. Why would I pick stuff y’all can’t eat,” Grendel gasped at the accusation.

“He has been helping Bucket in the garden at the bar,” Aki chimed in, hoping to ease some of Blake’s concerns, but Grendel spoke again, returning to his feet.

“No, the greatest man I’ve ever known taught me everything I needed to know about plants and animals,” Grendel explained. Blake rolled their eyes, earning an elbow to the guts from Aki.

“Thank you, Grendel. The food should last us at least another week,” Aki said, going off to start collecting wood for a fire for the night. Blake and Grendel follow shortly behind to help. The group made camp for the night and enjoyed a hot meal by the fire before sleeping. They still had more traveling in the morning.

Three more days of walking, they were an hour away from Holmfirth, and that’s when they saw it. Smoke.


	8. The War of Broken Bonds

The adventurers froze for a moment before Aki suddenly took off towards the smoke. Blake and Grendel look at each other for a second before running after her. They sprinted through the woods, and soon they could smell the houses’ burnt wood before they could see it. Reaching the clearing, they saw it, Holmfirth was ash. Aki and Blake ran into the middle of town; Grendel lay frozen at what would have been the gates. Small flames licked the edges of buildings that were nothing more than embers and ash. It had all looked so familiar.

. . .

It was just a typical morning in Zemmore, everyone doing their morning chores, except for one. A lone young teen made his way through the nearby forest to meet his mentor.

“Nak? You out here?” He called out into the woods, rounding the large tree in the middle of the forest. Praying at the base of the tree knelt a tall, older man with skin as dark as the oak trees around them and a small graying beard. Nak slowly rose to his feet and turned around, a small smile on his face.

“Grendel, my boy,” Nak said as he held out both of his arms. Grendel ran forward, wrapping his arms around him in a deep hug. The impact knocked Nak back a step.

“Careful,” Nak laughed. Grendel stepped back, an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry. What are we workin’ on today,” Grendel asked his mentor. Nak stood for a second, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Now that I’m thinkin’ about it, my bones are aching. Could you get me something for that?” Nak asked. He wanted to test Grendel’s knowledge of plants to see if he could find something that would help. Grendel perked up.

“Willow bark, right?” He asked, hoping that he chose the correct plant. Nak smiled at the kid, causing Grendel to smile back and sprint off into the woods to find a willow tree. Grendel roamed through the woods in search of the willow’s perfect environment. An hour passed before he found a lake at the edge of a small clearing, and right at the water’s edge was a large tree with long slender branches with oval leaves. It was a willow. The teen ran over and scraped off a chunk of the bark.

Taking his time, Grendel headed back home, stopping every few minutes to admire the small plants and animals scattered along his path. He heard the caw of crows as they flew above the treetops. Turning his gaze towards the way they came from, he saw black smoke coming from his home’s direction. Dropping everything and sprinted back, stumbling and tripping over branches, tears began filling his eyes as he got closer.

“NAK! NAK!” Grendel screamed, running into the burning village. Flames illuminated his neighbors running from soldiers. That’s when it hit him. He is in the middle of the war of broken bonds.

“NAK! WHERE ARE YOU?” Grendel called out over the screaming of his town before he saw Nak’s bright red cape. Panic set in as he realized that the cloak was covering a body.

“Oh, please, no,” Grendel whispered, running over to the body he realized they were still breathing, barely.

“Nak? It’s going to be okay. I know what to get to help you,” Grendel cried, kneeling beside the bloodied body of the man he had adopted as a father figure. Nak smiled up at him, happy to see him one last time.

“My boy, you know I don’t have that much time, but that’s okay. You’re going to be okay,” Nak said, his voice rough and tired. Grendel sobbed, holding his body closer.

“No, you’re going to be fine. It’ll take me 15 minutes tops,” Grendel begged, sobbing into Nak’s body.

“Grends, you gave me the family I could never have, and I could have never asked you for anything more.” Nak croaked. Using the rest of his strength, he untired the black sting that held the pelt together and handed it to Grendel.

“Please take it, keep it with you. Remember what I taught you. As long as you have it, I will be with you.” Nak’s grip on the cape loosened as his body fell limp. Grendel let out a gut-wrenching scream as the world burned around him. An armored silhouette with glowing green eyes began approaching the grieving giant.

. . .

“Grendel? GRENDEL?” Grendel was shaken out of his trance, stumbling back.

“Grendel, are you okay?” Aki asked, holding her hands out. The giant began looking around, trying to find Nak’s body. He released the grip he unknowingly held on his cape.

“Where?” Grendel started looking down at the floor, coming back to reality.

“Apple, you’re in Holmfirth with me and short stack,” Blake explained, earning an elbow from Aki for the nicknames.

“I’m okay now,” Grendel tried to smile back at the others, causing Blake to scoff at his attempt to ease their worries. Aki smacked them on the back of their arm.

“We should head back to Buckets,” Grendel suggested in a solemn voice turning around walking back towards Raventhorn. Blake and Aki looked at each other, knowing they would have to ask him what just happened.


	9. It's Not Nothing

The woods surrounding them were quieter than usual. Aki and Blake slowly lagged behind the giant, watching him kick small pebbles with his bare feet. Aki sent a concerned look over to Blake.

"Say something to him," She whispered. Blake looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What makes you think I'm the best person for that," they whispered back with a small scoff.

"You're friends?" She rhetorically asked as if it had been an obvious statement. Blake gave a crooked smile.

"Barely. Weren't you the one to spend a night in prison with him? He likes you more anyway. Why don't you say something?" Blake shot back; a small glare etched on his face. Ahead of them, Grendel stopped in his tracks.

"I can hear y'all, so say it," Grendel said, looked back over his shoulder. His cold tone complimented the pain behind his eyes.

"Look, we're just worried about what happened back there," Aki looked up, concern laced her voice. Although she had not known Grendel for long, she truly cared for him and wanted him to be okay.

"It was nothin'," Grendel snapped, turning back around and walking away. Blake rolled their eyes and scoffed at the other's behaviors. Aki glared over before elbowing them in the gut, causing them to sputter and cough before running in front of Grendel to stop him from going any farther.

"That wasn't 'nothin', Grendel, you were frozen and started crying. We want to make sure you're okay," Aki explained, raising her voice slightly, the concern becoming more evident.

"Look, seein' that town like that brought back some memories, that's all. I'm okay now, I promise," Grendel plastered another smile on his face.

"Okay, my ass," Blake chimed in. Their hands were resting on their hips as they made their way towards the giant.

"Just tell us what the fuck happened back there, Apple," Blake's tone held a subtle softness, barely noticeable to their companions. Grendel looked back down at his bare feet, kicking a small stick to the side.

"The Faded Realm's army attacked my village," Grendel mumbled, causing Aki and Blake to freeze and share knowing glances.

"My mentor had sent me out to find medicine, and when I came back, everythin' was on fire. Holmfirth looked just like it," Grendel explained. Blake looked over at him; confusion etched on their face.

"All this because you lost your town?" Blake asked, earning yet another elbow to the gut along with a glare from Aki and Grendel.

"I lost everythin' that night. That man wasn't just my mentor. He raised me after my mother died. He taught me everythin' I know. He was my father, the only one that ever accepted me," the anger in Grendel's tone rose with every sentence. How could Blake not understand that Grendel had no one after that? Aki stepped forwards, placing a small hand on his chest.

"Hey, they didn't mean anything by it," Aki tried calming him down as best she could. Grendel pushed past both of them, continuing walking towards Bucket's. Aki ran in front of Grendel once again.

"I know you're angry. I get it. I do, but what if I told you we might be able to stop all of this from happening to others?" Aki said to Grendel while looking over to Blake.

"What?" Grendel and Blake both asked.

"I know we aren't exactly the closest, but I feel like we can stop, Ende. She's behind all of it," Aki explained the idea like it made perfect sense. Blake stepped forward, arms crossed and eyebrow cocked.

"You think WE can take down an entire government? HELL yeah, fuck the government," Blake yelled, running ahead of the others.

"If we stop her, no one else will get hurt, right?" Grendel asked Aki, his head hung low once more.

"I can't promise no one else will, but fewer people will die once we stop her," Aki lowly explained.

"Okay," Grendel truly smiled at her before running after Blake.

"BLAKE, WAIT UP," Grendel yelled, running through the woods after Blake, laughing and smiling. Aki chuckled at their behavior before running after them as well.


End file.
